House pets, and particularly cats, when confined inside a dwelling for an extended period require sanitary litter facilities for depositing and containing excrement. Such facilities are known to comprise a receptacle in the nature of a tray partially filled with pet litter absorbent material, typically a particulate clay compound.
Such receptacles pose a number of problems to the householder. The absorbent litter, while suitable for absorbing pet urine, does not typically absorb any substantial portion of the obnoxious odors produced by the excrement of house pets. These odors escape into the surrounding area and become an annoyance to the homeowner and other inhabitants of the dwelling. As well, the sight of soiled litter in a tray is distasteful to inhabitants of the dwelling.
Moreover, pets frequently instinctively attempt to bury their excrement, and in the process often end up broadcasting litter beyond the confines of the tray, where it can become entrapped in carpet fibres. Once litter has migrated into carpeting it is generally very difficult to remove, reducing the life of carpeting and often adding to the obnoxious odors tending to pervade the area of the dwelling surrounding the receptacle. Such stray litter particles can also be transported to other areas of the dwelling in the treads of shoes, increasing the difficulty of keeping the dwelling clean.
Furthermore, in order to retain such a receptacle in a sanitary condition and minimize obnoxious odors emanating therefrom, the absorbent litter must be cleaned and changed regularly. This involves periodically disposing of soiled litter and replacing it with unsoiled litter, a distasteful and messy chore which involves unpleasantly close contact with pet litter soiled by animal excrement. In fact, direct handling of soiled litter poses a danger to women of contacting toxoplasmosis during pregnancy.
The receptacle itself must be cleaned with a disinfecting cleaner for maximum sanitization, otherwise a residue of soiled litter particles will adhere to the receptacle walls when the litter is changed, contaminating the fresh litter.
Additionally, most commonly used pet litter contains a very fine particulate element which, when the litter is disturbed, billows into the air, to be inhaled by the unfortunate householder charged with changing the litter before settling all over the surrounding area.
Litter receptacles are known which consist of a tray and a compatible hood therefor forming an enclosed area having an opening for the entry and exit of the pet. Such a receptacle can be more effective than an uncovered litter tray at containing obnoxious odors and stray litter particles, and assists in shielding soiled litter from view, however it tends to be more difficult and time consuming to clean, and more expensive to construct.
It is also known to provide a litter tray which is disposable, thus obviating the need for removing soiled litter from the tray, disinfecting the tray and refilling it with fresh litter. However, such receptacles are far less effective at containing odors and stray litter particles than covered receptacles.
Known covered receptacles are too costly to replace to render discarding the entire receptacle economic, and too bulky to be discarded conveniently.
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a collapsible disposable litter receptacle, which in a collapsed condition forms a closed container for the storage or disposal of litter, and in an erected condition forms a covered receptacle creating an enclosed area for the deposition of excrement and containment of odors and stray litter particles, with an opening for entry and exit of the pet. When the litter becomes soiled, the receptacle may be conveniently collapsed and discarded.
The invention thus combines the advantages of a covered litter receptacle and the advantages of a disposable litter receptacle. The receptacle is lightweight and economic, and makes disposal of soiled litter easy and sanitary.
Moreover, as the receptacle may be acquired by the householder already partially filled with absorbent litter, the householder need never contact the litter directly or agitate the litter. By dispensing with the need to pour fresh litter from a bag into the tray, and to pour soiled litter from the tray into a container for disposal, the invention virtually eliminates the fine particulate element of the litter from the dwelling outside the confines of the receptacle.